Monday 6th June 2011 - still not feeling well, despite having a quieter weekend.  Busy week with the kids and the running around... but I'm determined to get back on track now.

Tuesday - 5 x 4 mins at race pace with 2.5 minutes recovery.  It was my afternoon gymnastics run and I made sure I did a longer one as part of it - I have tended to do most of my sessions at a minimum total distance, just warming up for 10 minutes, doing the workload, then heading home.   This time, I did 19 mins warm up and 12 mins cool down (30 mins workload) and walked another 10 mins back to the gym.  I felt really good.  It was not hard to maintain a much more consistent race pace of 4.30 /km and although I was coughing up a bit of stuff from my chest, it didn't slow me down too much.  The weather has gotten cold, however - much snow in the East ready for the ski season to start on the weekend (not that that will affect me) but there is a crispness in the air, often all day long.

Wednesday - Yoga, 110 minutes today - she ran overtime!!  And today is 150 days to go - it's moved fast from 200 to go.  Nearly time to get serious about this........

Thursday - sprint session.  Up very early to do 3x300m and 4x1000m 'sprints'.  This is the session I did after the half marathon and really couldn't get my legs to turn at all - it was the one session I didn't complete as programmed.  So this one hung over my head a little.  

I  did an awful lot of talking to myself during it - this is the session that increases lactate tolerance, this is the session that really makes a difference.  These pieces were about a minute for the 300m and 4- 4.20 for the 1000m, with only 90 seconds recovery between pieces - definitely lactate tolerance pushing territory.  And the sort of session I do not want to do in the afternoon.  And I did good.  Because it was dark and slippery on the road (wet) I ran on Park Rd for the 300m sets and then onto the park for the 1000m pieces.  When my pace in the 1000m started to drop toward 4.20, I'd gee up a bit again, keep trying to turn those legs over faster.  To think that real marathoners run the whole thing in better than 4 minute pace!!  The last one was really  hard - slower but I was working hard and pushed through, despite the very uninspiring time.  

Good session.

Friday - myofascial release session.  I have done a bit of this along the way, particularly of my ITB on my outer thigh.  I have not done my calf before.  Perhaps this is why my left knee was sore at night all week.  Given how much it hurt to be rolling around on the floor at work with my foam roller to release some of this, I can't help but feel it must have contributed.  I must now bring one home to do it more regularly.

Saturday - strong core class stretch out.

15 km long slow run.  It felt long and slow.  Ave pace 5.50 / km.  But my longest run in about 6 weeks, I think.  Will need much engaging listening material for my really long runs in the next few months!

Sunday - a night spent in the Barossa Valley at the gorgeous Miner's Cottage with our friends Godfrey and Samantha.  A superlative host, and magnificent dinner bed and breakfast with sparkling conversation and non sparkling wine.  I felt I probably needed to run home from the Barossa, but I didn't bring my shoes.  Wonderful!